Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Why I hate Lebanon: let me count the ways

I of course detest the very idea of Lebanon and I have always been of the opinion that the entity should be dissolved in a larger one. Think about it: if there is a decent Syrian regime (once this regime is overthrown), there can be a nice larger entity there, and Lebanon will cease being the twin-sister of Zionism in the Arab East. But what bothers me about the Lebanese national idea is this obsession with pleasing and appeasing the White Man, and the need to prove one's credential as a "misplaced European in the dessert." So the New York Times magazine carried a paid advertisement from Lebanese banks, and what was the title of the supplement? "Lebanon: leading with sophistication." It should have been: Lebanon: leading nowhere, and misleading everywhere. Or Lebanon: leading with nothing. Absolutely nothing, unless you count the skills of savagery in the Lebanese civil war.

Comic by Terry Furry, reproduced from "Heard the One About the Funny Leftist?" by Cris Thompson, East Bay Express

As'ad's Bio

As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants.

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